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Beatrice Lacey
Beatrice Lacey is the main character and antagonist of Wideacre and is the central character and matriarch of the Lacey family and the Wideacre Trilogy. Willful, passionate and headstrong Beatrice loves the land of Wideacre and vows never to lose control of it. Her actions to seize control of the estate bring about the destruction of all of those around her and ultimately herself. Wideacre Beatrice Lacey is never far from her father the Squire of Wideacre's side and spends her early years following him around the Estate lands and village as he goes about his business. She knows every tenant and every inch of the land that she adores almost as much as she loves her father. It is unimaginable that she would ever do anything but aid in running the Estate while her brother is being educated as a gentleman. However her world is shattered when, at age eleven, she is informed that her brother Harry Lacey will inherit the role of squire while Beatrice will be forced to marry and move away from Wideacre. Beatrice vehemently rejects the notion and looks for comfort from her childhood friend Ralph Megson: a local poacher and son of a reported witch. Ralph, who owns nothing, understands Beatrice's love of the earth and desire to keep it for he has similar ambitions. At age fourteen, The two begin a passionate but ill fated affair. Beatrice's brother Harry returns from school and is shocked to discover Beatrice and Ralph in the midst of a lover's tryst. Harry attempts to punish Ralph for "spoiling" his sister but is overpowered by Ralph. but, to Beatrice's shock, Harry finds pleasure in the beating he receives from Ralph. After this incident, Beatrice avoids Ralph for a while until Ralph suggest they seize Wideacre for themselves and Beatrice agrees without thinking about it. Ralph plans to kill the squire and make the death look like an accident while Beatrice is fearful of Ralph but is uncertain of how seriously he is considering this plan. That is until she releases that he truly intends to kill her father. She attempts to stop Ralph but it is too late. Seeing the body of her father, Beatrice is consumed by fear and guilt and knows that Ralph could easy implicate her if he isn't given what he thinks he is owed. Beatrice decides that Ralph must die and so tries to lure him into a trap with the promises of sex. Ralph is caught in a mantrap and Beatrice flees unable to watch him writhe in pain. Beatrice returns to see that Ralph is no longer in the trap. He may have succumb to his injuries or he may have escaped, both prospects fill Beatrice with dread. However the death of her father and the attempted murder of Ralph have made Beatrice more callous and ruthless in her pursuit of control Wideacre as she is no longer as troubled by morality. Harry returns to Wideacre a handsome though impressionable young man. Beatrice initially views him as a rival though sees that he is malleable to whatever she says. Her control over Wideacre and the respect she is given by the tenants seems unchallenged until Harry becomes interested in Lady Celia Havering. Having a Squire's wife on Wideacre would put distance between Beatrice and Harry, would carry the possibility of children and heirs and would also put pressure on Beatrice to marry. Such possibilities are intolerable to Beatrice: Determined to retain Wideacre, Beatrice seduces Harry, who, although attracted to her, refuses to commit incest. Beatrice is well practiced in seduction and it doesn't take much for her to get Harry to enter in a sexual relationship with her. She also humiliates him as she knows he receives sexual pleasure from derogatory treatment. Beatrice also befriends Celia to ensure that she can manipulate Celia as much as she does to Harry. Harry and Celia marry and are accompanied on their honeymoon by Beatrice. Beatrice continues to have intercourse with her brother but discovers she is pregnant in France. During the honeymoon Harry spends his days with Celia and his nights with Beatrice. While abroad Beatrice discovers she is pregnant with Harry's child. She attempts to abort the child unsuccessfully and makes herself sick and unable to travel. Celia stays behind to care for Beatrice while Harry returns to Wideacre. However she has a change of heart when ,believing the baby to be a boy and therefore heir to Wideacre, Beatrice thinks this child will secure her as Wideacre's owner even though she knows Harry would reject the child if she told him the truth. Beatrice tells the tenderhearted Celia that the child is a product of rape and begs her to pass the child of as her own. Celia has misgivings but agrees and claims the baby as her and Harry's child. Nine months later, Beatrice gives birth to a girl, leaving her disappointed by the baby's gender. Celia names the baby Julia and they return to England. Although Beatrice feels a bond with her daughter, she does not act upon her feelings as Celia becomes more assertive of everything concerning the baby. When she learns Harry and Celia have started sleeping together Beatrice manipulates him into resuming their sexual relations At the peak of her power and as squire of Wideacre in all but name, Beatrice is surprised to find herself attracted to a young intelligent Scottish doctor John MacAndrew. John falls instantly in love with the beautiful and provocative Beatrice and pursues her with marriage proposals. Beatrice refuses his marriage proposals due to her determination to stay on Wideacre and only agrees to marry him when she discovers she is pregnant with Harry's child. Her attempts to abort the child and when she fails she finds herself comforted by John. She seduces him and they have intercourse whereby Beatrice can claim that John is her child's father. She marries John and hopes that she can pass off her bastard child as John's premature baby and a condition of the marriage is that John must stay on Wideacre. Her mother is happy for Beatrice marrying a man of her class while Harry and Celia are happy that Beatrice will know their "happiness". Beatrice's pregnancy progresses well and she finds herself somewhat contented with a loving husband and control over the estate. John is called away from the Estate as Beatrice goes into labor. she gives birth to a boy whom she names Richard. Beatrice almost succeeds in her scheme but when John returns early he notices that the child is too robust to be premature. Disillusioned, John refuses to believe Beatrice when she says that she was raped but that her love for him is not a lie.He begins to drink to forget her betrayal a habit that Beatrice exploits to paint John in a bad light. Despite Celia and John's presence, Harry still petulantly demands sex from Beatrice. During one of their couplings their mother walks in and is so traumatized that she enters into a catatonic state and can only say over and over "I only came to get my book ... Harry, Beatrice, no!". John already has his suspicions and Beatrice knows that she must dispatch her mother to stop the secret coming out. She manipulates Celia into inadvertently overdosing her mother on the laudanum John has prescribed. John's suspicions now are piqued and he is determined to undercover Beatrice's deceit however Beatrice uses his drinking habits against him and has him committed to an asylum before the truth comes out. As he is dragged from Wideacre Hall John screams that Beatrice is a murderess, adulteress and has an incestuous relationship with her brother all of which are explained as the demented imaginings of a madman. Beatrice is triumphant and so makes plans to complete her schemes; Beatrice coerces Harry to go along with her scheme to marry "cousins" Julia and Richard to each other and make them joint heirs to the Wideacre estate. Beatrice uses John's fortune to finance the plan and makes radical changes in the Estate to raise more funds to finalize the plan. This costs Beatrice the goodwill of the tenants whom now face starvation and unemployment. Beatrice, intent on her plans, does not care. Realizing what is happening, Celia frees John from the asylum, bringing him back to Wideacre and managing to restore his medical reputation by helping the impoverished tenants suffering under Beatrice's rule. John and Celia do their best to help alleviate the villagers' poverty and deprivation, in contrast to the increasingly corrupt and ruthless way Beatrice and Harry control the land and tenants. The Tennants begin to plot Beatrice's downfall as rumors spread that "The Culler", a shadowy outlaw who is against enclosure and the aristocracy, is heading for Wideacre. "The Culler" is a swarthy man with no legs who keeps the company of black dogs and Beatrice knows that this man is Ralph and that he will have his revenge. She both welcomes and fears the return of her murderous lover and the death he'll bring about. The tenants turn against Beatrice and she knows that she has lost all that she has loved in her effort to never lose it. The climax of the novel is the unraveling of all of Beatrice's schemes. John and Celia discover the estate has been mortgaged while Harry discovers that Julia is Beatrice's daughter. Harry is told that "The Culler" is Julia's father and never discovers that he has fathered both Julia and Richard. Finally recognizing the enormity of Beatrice's crimes and destructive nature, Celia confronts her and leaves with Harry and Julia in tow. John takes Richard and leaves as well; his only remaining desire being to save Celia and the children from the corruptive influence of Beatrice's wickedness. As they flee the mob descending on Wideacre, Harry has a heart attack and dies. Left alone, Beatrice knows that the arriving villagers have to come to burn down the Hall and kill her, but she does not care. She is overjoyed to see Ralph, though the last thing she sees is the knife in his hand. She welcomes her death, understanding that it is justice and her only hope of redemption. In the epilogue, Beatrice becomes a folktale and regarded as a witch of the land among the villagers. Her children, Julia and Richard are seen playing in ruins to Wideacre Hall. After her death, her ghost still haunts her beloved Wideacre: Fulfilling her promise to never leave. Appearance Beatrice has long, curly copper hair, green eyes, and honey-colored skin. She is regarded as among the most beautiful women of the estate and has the affection of several men around her. Beatrice haughtily concedes that she is beautiful and has a lovely body which she uses it to manipulate Harry, John and even Ralph Megson. Personality As a child, Beatrice was sweet and innocent, and displayed keen insight to how to operate the estate. She was popular among the locals as a result and, as she was her father's favorite child, she had a close relationship with her father. Beatrice is very strong-minded and independent, as she refused to follow her mother's strict social customs and believed she would take ownership of Wideacre on her own once she came to age. Upon learning the estate would go to her brother, Beatrice became deceptive and rebellious, but playing the role as the innocent daughter and sister to her family. She falls deeply in love with Ralph, despite knowing his status as a gamekeeper's son forbids their relationship, and they develop a passionate and sexual relationship. However, after the murder of her father at Ralph's hands and his escape from her murderous trap, Beatrice became greedy and manipulative to the point she became a sociopath and was willing to go to extreme lengths to protect her ancestral heritage; including incest and murder. While she holds some care for her brother and children, Beatrice later regards them as tools as part of her plot and loses all sense of realty as her actions tear apart the lives of her family and the locals, and ultimately destroys Wideacre. At the end, realizing the damage she has caused and left with nothing to lose, she contemplates her death by Ralph, the one person who can stop her, as her hope for redemption. Repercussions of Beatrice's actions * Beatrice's beloved father is murdered by Ralph Megson on the understanding that he and Beatrice will control Wideacre. * Ralph Megson is maimed and has both legs amputated above the knee. He is forced to flee Wideacre and over the intervening years has a criminal career as an outlaw, murderer and rioter throughout England. * Beatrice bares two children out of incest. Richard inherits Beatrice's worse qualities and goes on to perpetrate violence against others including the rape of his sister. This union begets another incestuous child Sarah. * Beatrice traumatizes and then murders her mother. * Beatrice ruins her husband and wrongly imprisons him in an an asylum. She also spends all of his fortune on ensuring her children will inherit the estate. * Beatrice causes the deaths of many of her tenants through poverty, starvation and altercations with the guards she employs on the estate. * Beatrice bankrupts the once successful estate. * Beatrice's actions cause the riot whereby Wideacre hall is burnt down. * The riot induces Harry's heart attack and death. * Her actions mean that Celia, John and the children have to live modestly on the estate. Category:Characters Category:Female Characters Category:fictional characters Category:Wideacre characters